The Washington State Cougars open their 2006 Pacific-10 Conference home schedule when they hosts No. 3 USC in a game televised by TBS, 4 p.m., Saturday at Martin Stadium.

The Cougars opened conference play last Saturday with a 36-10 win at Stanford, WSU's third consecutive victory, matching the three-game streak to start the 2005 season.

Against the Cardinal the Cougar defense posted eight sacks, third all-time in school history, and held the Cardinal to just 28 rushing yards. Over the last three games the WSU defense has allowed a combined 101 yards on the ground (Idaho, 83; Baylor -10; Stanford, 28).
USC enters Saturday's contest with a 3-0 record, 1-0 in conference play, following a 20-3 victory over Arizona. The Trojans are riding a 24-game conference winning streak.

USC leads the all-time series, 53-8-4, and has won the last three meetings. The Cougars last victory came Oct. 5, 2002, a 30-27 overtime victory in Pullman.

BRUCE NAMED PAC-10 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Senior defensive end Mkristo Bruce has been named the Pacific-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Week, Commissioner Tom Hansen announced Monday. Bruce earned his first Player of the Week award following a five-sack, seven-tackle performance in WSU's 36-10 win over Stanford last Saturday. The five sacks were a WSU single-game record and NCAA Division I-A high this season. Bruce now has 25.5 sacks for his Cougar career, third all-time.

TBS PICKS USC GAME: WSU's upcoming football game with USC will be televised nationally at 4 p.m. by TBS...the announce crew will include Ron Thulin (play-by-play), Charles Davis (analyst) and Craig Sager (sideline).

FSN NORTHWEST TO TELEVISE WSU AT OREGON STATE: FSN Northwest has announced they will televise the WSU-OSU game live at 4 p.m., Oct. 7.

WSU'S FIRST FOUR GAMES IN DIFFERENT STADIUMS: When Washington State hosts the USC Trojans Sept. 30 in Pullman's Martin Stadium, the Cougars will have played four teams in four different stadiums...the Cougars began play at Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium Sept. 2...WSU then hosted Idaho at Martin Stadium Sept. 9, followed by Baylor Sept. 16 in Seattle at Qwest Field (home of the Seattle Seahawks)...the fourth game is Stanford Sept. 23 at Stanford Stadium.

WSU-USC SERIES: USC leads the all-time series by a 53-8-4 margin, including the last three. When playing at Martin Stadium, the Trojans hold a 10-4-2 advantage with USC taking a 42-12 victory in the last meeting (Oct. 30, 2004). The Cougars won an overtime thriller, 30-27, Oct. 5, 2002, in Pullman, their last win in the series. In that game, Drew Dunning kicked two 35-yard field goals, one with 1:50 in the fourth quarter to tie the game and the other in overtime that was the game-winner.

PACIFIC-10 NOMINATIONS: WSU's Pacific-10 Conference POW nominations following the Stanford game were: Alex Brink (offense), Mkristo Bruce (defense) and Jason Hill (special teams). Brink completed 21 of 33 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns and scored on a one-yard run. Bruce set a WSU record and NCAA season-high, with five sacks, while Jason Hill blocked his second career punt that was recovered by Mike Graise, who also had an interception return for a touchdown.